Dorothée Luise Menzner née Katz (born 14 September 1965 in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

) is a German politician (

Bündnis 90/Die Grünen Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...

, until 2021

Die Linke Die Linke (; ), also known as the Left Party ( ), is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 2007 as the result of the merger of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and Labour and Social Justice – The ...

/ PDS). She was state chairwoman of the Party of Democratic Socialism in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

from 1998 to 2006 and a

member of the German Bundestag Member of the German Parliament () is the official name given to a deputy in the Bundestag, German Bundestag. ''Member of Parliament'' refers to the elected members of the federal Bundestag Parliament at the Reichstag building in Berlin. In G ...

for her party from 2005 to 2013.

Life and career

After graduating from high school in 1985, Menzner first completed a

voluntary social year The Voluntary Social Year in Germany and, in a much lesser dimension, in Austria, is a government-funded volunteering, voluntary work program particularly for young adults. It can last between six and eighteen months. It can also be spent abroad. ...

in a home for the mentally and multiply disabled and began studying

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

at the

University of Hanover A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

in 1986. After her intermediate diploma, she changed her subject and began studying

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

, which she completed in 1996 with a degree in

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

. From 1999 to 2002, Menzner worked for the PDS

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

and was initially unemployed after leaving the

. From 2003 to 2005, she was self-employed. From 2005 to 2013, Menzner was a

Member of the German Bundestag Member of the German Parliament () is the official name given to a deputy in the Bundestag, German Bundestag. ''Member of Parliament'' refers to the elected members of the federal Bundestag Parliament at the Reichstag building in Berlin. In G ...

. Since 2012, she has worked as a freelance

publicist A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for work or a project such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists wh ...

and film producer. In 2012, she produced the film ''Hibakusha - Journey to the Island of Happiness'' about Japan one year after the Fukushima disaster. After her Bundestag mandate, Menzner became self-employed as a legal counselor. From 2015 to 2018, she studied part-time again and graduated with a bachelor's degree in "Care and Guardianship" in November 2018. Menzner is widowed and has one son.

Politics

In her youth, Menzner was primarily involved in church youth and disability work. In 1994 she became a member of the PDS. From 1995 to 1998 she was a member of the PDS district executive committee in Hanover and also of the federal party council from 1995 to 1996. From 1997 to 2000, 2002 to 2003 and from 2004 to 2006, she was a member of the federal executive of the PDS. From 2003 to 2005, she was also a member of the Geraer Dialog spokespersons' council. Menzner was state chairwoman of the PDS in Lower Saxony from 1998 to 2006 and continued to be a member of the state executive committee as an assessor from 2006 to 2010. From 2005 to 2013, Menzner was a

. In the 16th legislative period, she was

transport policy Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelines, ...

Spokesperson for the Left Party parliamentary group, in the 17th legislative period

energy policy Energy policies are the government's strategies and decisions regarding the Energy production, production, Energy distribution, distribution, and World energy supply and consumption, consumption of energy within a specific jurisdiction. Energy ...

Spokesperson for the

DIE LINKE Die Linke (; ), also known as the Left Party ( ), is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 2007 as the result of the merger of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and Labour and Social Justice – The ...

parliamentary group. She was elected to the

via the

state list The State List or List-II is a list of 61 items. Initially there were 66 items in the list in Schedule Seven to the Constitution of India. The legislative section is divided into three lists: the Union List, the State List and the Concurrent Lis ...

. Menzner justified her resignation from the party in 2021 by stating that the former party chairman

Klaus Ernst Klaus Ernst (born 1 November 1954) is a German politician and was a leading member of the Labour and Social Justice Party, later The Left and switched to BSW in October 2023. He is political economist has served as a member of The Left in ...

had been elected chairman of the Bundestag Committee for Climate Protection and Energy. She has been a member of

since spring 2023.divorce-with-obstacles.html Linke und Wagenknecht: Scheidung mit Hindernissen
at nd. In November 2023, she told nd that she could imagine rejoining Die Linke. As of 2008, she is a member of the Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime - League of Anti-Fascists (VVN-BdA) and delegate to the Federal Congress.Bayerisches Staatsministerium
des Innern: '' '' (S. 184)

References

External links

Lebenslauf bei der Bundestagsfraktion Die Linke
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Menzner, Dorothee Living people 1965 births Members of the Bundestag 2005–2009 Members of the Bundestag 2009–2013 Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany) politicians Alliance 90/The Greens politicians Politicians from Darmstadt